3-year-old Sylmar boy who died in a hot car, climbed into the vehicle and was unable to get out

SYLMAR - Authorities today identified a 3-year-old Sylmar boy who died after being overcome by heat after he climbed into a car parked outside his home and was unable to get out.

Vincent Quintana was discovered in the vehicle about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 14400 block of Foothill Boulevard, and he died at a hospital, according to police and the coroner’s office. An autopsy was pending.

Los Angeles police Officer Bruce Borihanh said the boy apparently had been playing in the yard, and somehow crawled into the vehicle.

The boy’s parents were the ones who called paramedics, Borihanh said. It was unclear if they will face charges in the death.

In Sylmar that day, the temperature that afternoon was in the 90s.

The boy’s death was third of its kind statewide so far this year and the 18th nationally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nationally, an average of 38 children die from heat exposure in vehicles each year.